Write to the Prisoners of Conscience!

A federal court in Georgia found thirty-six people guilty for trespassing last November onto Fort Benning - home of the notorious School of the Americas (SOA - renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). The thirty-six were part of a vigil action of over 10,000 people who spoke out against the SOA. Their sentences range from six months of probation to the maximum of six months in federal prison. These draconian sentences are meant to silence and intimidate all of us. Send letters of support to the prisoners. Their sacrifice and steadfastness in the struggle for peace and justice provide an extraordinary example of love in action.

Prison Addresses:

_____________________________ Rev. Charles Booker-Hirsch, Ann Arbor, MI 41, Presbyterian minister at Northside Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor. Married (to UCC pastor). One child, age 4. Works with Central American refugees. Member of Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and PNAODA (Presbyterian Network of Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse). Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Charles Booker-Hirsch

#90961-020

FCI McKean

P.O. Box 8000

Bradford, PA 16701

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

Jonna Cohen, Denver, CO 20, MacAllister College student. Student of Maharaji, an Indian spiritual teacher. Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Jonna Cohen

# 90962-020

Federal Prison Camp

87930 N. 45th Ave

Phoenix AZ 85086-7057

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

Brigid Conarchy, Grayslake, IL 23, Originally from Waukegan, IL. Degree in Theology and Philosophy from St Norberts College. Catholic worker with Little Flower CW in Goochland, VA. Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine

_____________________________

Kenneth Crowley, Houston, TX 60, Parent educator. Catholic. Member of Pax Christi. Sentenced to six months in federal prison, $1000 fine

Kenneth F. Crowley

#90963-020

FPC Beaumont

P. O. Box 26010

Beaumont, TX 77720

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 03/10/03

_____________________________

Sue Daniels, Pembroke, VA 41, a doctoral student in avian conservation biology, currently forming a local chapter of the Colombia Support Network, also active with AWOL (go-awol.org), the Coalition for Justice, Amnesty International, the New River Valley Greens, and the Living Wage Campaign. A participant in a beautiful Reclaim the Streets action in NYC during the WEF (the World Economic [Exploitation] Forum). Lead organizer to bring Vandana Shiva, Ed Herman, and Cecelia Zarate-Laun of the Colombia Support Network to Blacksburg and the Virginia Tech community this Spring. Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Susan Daniels

#90964-020

FPC Alderson

Glen Ray Road, Box B

Alderson, WV 24910

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

Mary Dean, Chicago, IL 37, Former husband tortured by G-2 (SOA grads) in Guatemala. Affiliated with Catholic Worker, IL, Peace Action and SOAW IL. Sentenced to six months in a federal prison, $1000 fine

Mary Dean

# 90965-020

FPC Greenville

PO Box 6000

Greenville, IL 62246

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 03/10/03

_____________________________

Kathleen Desautels, Chicago, IL 64, A Sister of Providence of St. Mary of the Woods IA for 42 years. Ministry includes education, prison ministry and 8th Day Center for Justice for past 16 years. Sentenced to six months in a federal prison

Kathleen Desautels

# 90966-020

FPC Greenville

PO Box 6000

Greenville, IL 62246

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 03/10/03

_____________________________

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Nicholasville, KY 52, English as a Second Language teacher to high school students. Activist for Women's Ordination. Mother of two. Affiliated with Women's Ordination Conference, Catholic Action Center, Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice, Newman Center for University of Kentucky. Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Janice Sevre-Duszynska

#91104-020

FMC Lexington

3301 Leestown Road

Lexington, KY 40511

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/01

_____________________________

Toni Flynn, Valyermo, CA 56, High Desert Catholic Worker member and a Benedictine Oblate at St. Andrew's Abbey, also in Valyermo. Mother of four grown children. Expecting first grandchild in October. Has been participating in SOA Watch protests since 1998. Sentenced to six months in federal prison

Toni Flynn

#90960-020

Crisp County Jail

196 South Highway 300

Cordele, GA 31015

Incarceration date: 07/12/02

Projected release date: 01/01/03

[Toni and Jerry are still in Crisp County Jail in Southern Georgia. See www.soaw.org for updated information and email Raymond E Holt, the Southeast Regional Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (rholt@bop.gov) to demand that Toni and Jerry be moved to a facility near their home and that the inhumane situation at Crisp County Jail has to change for all prisoners!]

_____________________________

Kate Fontanazza, Milwaukee, WI 53, Teacher. Catholic. Member of Pax Christi, Peace Action and Pledge of Resistance. Sentenced to six months in federal prison, $1000 fine

Kate Fontanazza

# 90967-020

FPC Greenville

100 U.S. Hwy 40, PO Box 4000

Greenville, IL 62246

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 03/10/03

_____________________________

Chani Geigle-Teller, Salem, OR 19, Student. Works with Oregon Peace Works mobilizing youth for social justice work in their communities. Sentenced to six months in a federal prison, $1000 fine

Chantilly Geigle

FPC Dublin

#90968-020

5775 8th St.

Camp Parks

Dublin, CA 94568

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 03/10/03

_____________________________

Peter Gelderloos, Harrisonburg, VA 19, Activist and ex-student involved in community and national organizing around environmental, anti-war, anti-captalist and anarchist issues. Currently trying to write professionally. Sentenced to six months in federal prison

Peter Gelderloos

# 90688-020

FCI Cumberland

14601 Burbridge Road, SE

Cumberland MD 21502-8771

Incarceration date: 07/12/02

Projected release date: 01/12/02

_____________________________

Nancy Gowen, Richmond, VA 68, Mother of seven, grandmother to four. Two months ago I buried my son, Chuck, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I am a member of Pax Christi Richmond and Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation. Thirteen of the last fifteen years I have worked with the homeless population in Richmond, Virginia as a mental health counselor. Have co-faciliated alternative to violence workshops in the prison system for the Richmond Peace Education Center. Spent time living with followers of Gandhi and working at Mother Teresa's in India. Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Nancy Gowen

# 90969-020

FPC Alderson

PO Box A

Alderson, WV 24910

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

John Heid, Luck, WI 47, Quaker. Catholic Worker living and working on social justice issues in the Anathoth Farm Community. Member of Veterans for Peace. Handyman. Sentenced to six months in federal prison.

John Heid

#13815-016

FPC Schuylkill Camp 2, Range B P.O. Box 670 Minersville, PA 17954--0670

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 04/10/03

(John is serving an additional month for an ELF action)

_____________________________

Linda Holzbaur, Ithaca, NY 45, Mother of 4 (3 school age). Peace activist. Part time journalist. Catholic worker. Member of "Keep Space for Peace". Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine

_____________________________

Lisa Hughes, W. Hartford, VT 36, Catholic background/Mennonite affinity. Raised in Midwest, spent 5 years in El Salvador as a nurse. Moved to Vermont, to begin war tax resistance and organic farming, from Oregon and hospice nursing. Member of War Resisters League. Acquitted

_____________________________

Rev. Erik Johnson, Maryville, TN 57, Presbyterian Church(U.S.A.) minister, Interim Pastor at Church of the Savior UCC, Knoxville. Married with 5 grown children, 3 grandchildren. 1984 Witness for Peace to Nicaragua. Member of Knoxville Area Committee on Central America, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance. Sentenced to six months in federal prison, $1000 fine

Erik Johnson

#90971-020 MB2

FCI Manchester

P.O. Box 3000

Manchester, KY 40962

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 03/10/03

_____________________________

Niklan Jones-Lezama, Blacksburg, VA 38, married to Nicaraguan Sandinista, Claudia; two sons, Emilio Jose and Omar Eli. A past co-coordinator for the Coalition for Justice in Central America; 1987 Witness for Peace/Fellowship of Reconciliation/Buddhist Peace Fellowship delegate to Nicaragua and Honduras. Also part of fact-finding delegation to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala. An intern with Global Issues Project in Haiti. Currently helping to build a local chapter of the Colombia Support Network. A Re-evaluation counselor, studying and practicing healing touch and reiki energy therapies for the past four years. Sentenced to six months in federal prison

Niklan Jones- Lezama

# 0203593

Sherburne County Jail

13880 Highway 10 NW

Elkriver MN 55330-4609

Incarceration date: 09/12/02

Projected release date: 03/12/03

_____________________________

Rae Kramer, Syracuse, NY 55, Domestic violence activist. Member of Syracuse Peace Council and Jewish Peace Fellowship. Sentenced to six months in a federal prison, $5,000 fine

Rae Kramer

# 91096-020

Danbury FCI

Route 37

Danbury CT 06811

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 03/10/02

_____________________________

Palmer Legare, Springfield, MA Student at Springfield College. From Cabett, VT. Community organizer on low income housing issues. Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Palmer Legare

# 91097-020

FMC Devens

PO Box 879

Devens, MA 01432

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

Laura MacDonald, Syracuse, NY 23, Works with children with disabilities. Member of Syracuse Peace Council. Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Laura MacDonald

# 90959-020

Harris County Jail

PO Box 286

Hamilton, GA 31811

Incarceration date: 07/12/02

Projected release date: 10/12/02

_____________________________

Shannon McManimon, Philadelphia, PA 26, Catholic Worker at Martha House CW in Philadelphia. Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine

_____________________________

Ralph Madsen, Newtonville, MA 68, Retired elementary school teacher. Married, with two grown children. Grandfather. Stationed at Ft. Benning in 1956. Affiliated with Neighbor to Neighbor and Buddhist Peace Fellowship. Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine

_____________________________

Tom Mahedy, Wall, NJ 39, Married with two children, 5 and 7. Former Navy ROTC. Traveled to Central America with Pastors for Peace. Member of Pax Christi. Sentenced to three months in federal prison

Thomas Mahedy

# 91098-020

FCI Fort Dix

P.O. Box 38

Fort Dix, New Jersey 08640

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

Abi Miller, Harrisonburg, VA 23, Degree in Biology from James Madison University. Works at a restaurant in the process of collectivizing. Involved in a community center project, community garden organizing, and tutoring english as a second language. Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Abigail Miller

#90692-020

FPC Alderson

PO Box A

Alderson, WV 24910

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

Summer Nelson, Missoula, MT 26, Environmental and social justice activist working with the Buffalo Field Campaign and Wild Rockies Earth First. Visual artist who uses art in activism. Aspiring wilderness survivalist and sustainable community builder doing trail work, organic farming and wilderness therapy programs. Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Summer Nelson

# 90693-020

Harris County Jail

PO Box 286

Hamilton, GA 31811

Incarceration date: 07/12/02

Projected release date: 10/12/02

_____________________________

Fr. William O'Donnell, Berkeley, CA 72, member of the San Carlos Foundation - Sentenced to six months in federal prison, $1000 fine

Bill O'Donnell

#85713-011

Atwater USP

PO Box 01900

Atwater CA 95301

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 03/10/03

_____________________________

David O'Neil, Elkton, VA - Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine

_____________________________

Mike Pasquale, Syracuse, NY 33, Catholic. Program Director at Family Center. Director of International House at LeMoyne College. Sentenced to six months in a federal prison, $1000 fine

Michaele Pasquale

# 91102-020 Unit A

Federal Prison Camp Allenwood

PO Box 1000

Montgomery, PA 17752 Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 03/10/03

_____________________________

Leone Reinbold, Oakland, CA, Freedom Rising Affinity Group - Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine

_____________________________

Rich Ring is 33 years old and lives in Atlanta, where he is a human rights investigator. He grew up in Washington County, New York, and went to Earlham College. He has been an ecologist with The Nature Conservancy, and a Catholic Worker at St. Martin de Porres House in Harrisburg, PA. He is a member of Pax Cristi USA, Pennsylvania Abolitionists, and Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. He learned about the SOA in 2001 from travels in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and the Autonomous Zones of Chiapas, Mexico. (Click to read his testimony -in Word format- from Georgia.) - Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Richard M. Ring

#91099-020

Federal Prison Camp

PO Box 2000

Lewisburg, PA 17837

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

Maxwell Sadler Edwards, Waterville, ME - Sentenced to six months probation, $2500 fine

_____________________________

Kathy Shields Boylan, Washington DC 58, Catholic Worker with Dorothy Day CW in Washington DC. Plowshares activist. Mother of 5. Grandmother of 3. Sentenced to three months in federal prison

Kathleen Boylan

# 20047-016

Range 2

Federal Prison Camp Alderson

PO Box A

Alderson, WV 24910

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

Michael Sobol, Golden, CO 18, Graduates HS in May. Plans to defer college for a year to work in Guatemala with street children. Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine

Michael Sobol

# 91105-020

FCI Engelwood

9595 w. quincy ave

littleton, co 80123

Incarceration date: 09/10/02

Projected release date: 12/10/02

_____________________________

Lee Sturgis, Elkton, VA - Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine

_____________________________

Fr. Louis Vitale, San Francisco, CA Franciscan priest. Pastor of an inner city parish in San Francisco. Working with marginated children and the homeless. Sentenced to three months in federal prison

Louis Vitale

# 25803-048 (prison address TBA)

Incarceration date: 10/02

Projected release date: 01/03

_____________________________

Fr. Jerry Zawada, Cedar Lake, IN 65, Franciscan priest and Ecumenical. Just back from Palestine. Affiliated with Voices in the Wilderness. Sentenced to six months in federal prison

Jerry Zawada

# 04995-045

Crisp County Jail

196 South Highway 300

Cordele, GA 31015

Incarceration date: 07/12/02

Projected release date: 01/12/02

[Toni and Jerry are still in Crisp County Jail in Southern Georgia. See www.soaw.org for updated information and email Raymond E Holt, the Southeast Regional Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (rholt@bop.gov) to demand that Toni and Jerry be moved to a facility near their home and that the inhumane situation at Crisp County Jail has to change for all prisoners!]

_____________________________

Those who speak out for justice and human rights should not be forced to stand trial, let alone go to jail. Many of the perpetrators of massacres and all of the aiding and abetting School of the Americas (SOA) officials who are responsible for the death and suffering of thousands of innocent victims throughout Latin America have not spent a single day in jail; conversely, SOA Watch activists are incarcerated in federal prisons and county jails across the US. These activists have been fined thousands and thousands of dollars while the families of victims of SOA violence haven't received one dime of reparations for their loss. We cannot allow this injustice to continue. As our friends are imprisoned, we call on communities across this land to discern carefully and prepare to cross the line in their places on November 17th. In solidarity with those who have risked their freedom and with those in Latin America who risk so much more, organize now and come to Ft. Benning!

For more information contact:

SOA Watch

PO Box 4566

Washington DC 20017

email: info@soaw.org

phone: (202) 234-3440

web: www.soaw.org

-- TB (tbuhl@xtra.com), September 24, 2002

Answers

Hello, T. Buhl.

I support the arrest, conviction, and penalties given to all these trespassers. I don't wish any ill to the prisoners, but I hope that they will learn their lesson not to break the law.

In addition to writing to them to encourage them to reform, I would be inclined to send a note of thanks to the Federal Court in Georgia.

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 25, 2002.

I see John you are not a follower of Jesus. You would have been one of those who put the law before the good, before love and you would have been a supporter of Jesus' punishment. Would you not try to stop abortion because it is the law? I think you may be a bit mixed up on religion and on the civil rights of individuals in the need to protest. Non-violent protest has and is the backbone of change in America.

-- TB (tbuhl@xtra.com), September 26, 2002.

TB keep up the good work in Jesus's name Amen. God Bless.

-- Kiwi (csisherwood@hotmail.com), September 26, 2002.

so, u support abortion huh? if anyone here knows the leagal definition of alive, then u would know a fetus is technically a living human being, making it murder to kill it. and i dont see how ANYONE can support such a disgusting procedure.

-- me be (walkinthewrd@aol.com), September 26, 2002.

Hi Andrew Andrew you will not find anyone on this forum supporting abortion. Tb was merely saying that if the cause is worthy enough then we should break the law in non violent protest(eg if babies are being slaughtered then the "law" is an ass and we should break it).

On reflection I dont know whether the "cause"- in this case an "anti war" protest is worthy enough as I really dont know the details, though the sentences for "trespass" seem extreme to say the least.

God Bless

-- Kiwi (csisherwood@hotmail.com), September 26, 2002.

thanx for clearin that up

-- me be (walkinthewrd@aol.com), September 26, 2002.

I'm sorry to see, T. Buhl, that you are given to jumping to hasty and wrong conclusions. (You have a partner in Kiwi, you "jumped" to congratulate you too hastily, and is now having second thoughts after realizing that you are against something he knows nothing about.)

T. Buhl, you wrote: "I see John you are not a follower of Jesus."

Why don't you ask the other Catholics here if I am "a follower of Jesus." You can't possibly make such a judgment based on the one paragraph I wrote to you.

You then wrote: "You would have been one of those who put the law before the good, before love and you would have been a supporter of Jesus' punishment."

I do not support punishing the innocent. Quite the contrary. I support punishing those guilty of breaking a just law -- such as the people whose names you listed. They broke a just law against trespassing on restricted military property. There is nothing in Christian teaching that permits such trespass, given the circumstances of this case.

You continued: "Would you not try to stop abortion because it is the law? ... Non-violent protest has and is the backbone of change in America."

If you only knew what I have done in this regard, your face would be beet-red. I have spent thousands of hours in "non-violent protest" and public prayer and on-the-street education to "try to stop abortion." I never revealed that to anyone before in my life, but you forced me to do it, to show how unjust you can be when you engage in knee-jerk, rash judgment.

Finally, you wrote: "I think you may be a bit mixed up on religion and on the civil rights of individuals in the need to protest."

I am completely aware of individuals' civil rights, having exercised mine so many times. But, as I said before, breaking a just law is not a "civil right." It is a "civil wrong."

The kind of things that happened at Camp Auschwitz were so evil that a form of "trespass" or "invasion" to end the crimes would have been justified. By contrast, what occurs at Fort Benning is not something that has been condemned by the Catholic Church. Whether what happens there is immoral or not is a subject of debate, and I believe that at least some orthodox bishops would not condemn the School of the Americas at all. Therefore, illegal trespass cannot be justified. And that is exactly why I said what I said in my initial message.

You see, T. Buhl, although I voted for George McGovern in 1972 and once liked a lot of liberal Democrats, I grew up. Now I can draw a distinction between legitimate protest (for example, picketing/leafleting against abortion) and illegitimate use of force (for example, useless and unjustifiable trespassing).

God bless you.
John

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 26, 2002.

u know, they have chat rooms for just this purpose. and i dont mean to insult u guys (ok, yes i do), this place shows the same level of imaturity in the chat rooms, just not as many people. to bad there arnt restrictions here on how long ur post can be (chat rooms have those restrictions). lol

-- me be (walkinthewrd@aol.com), September 27, 2002.